Awwww...Baby Moose in the Yard!

I was out starting to rake the lawn this morning and was startled when I walked around the cabin. There was a moose hiding back there...no a momma with a baby....no a momma with two babies! The little ones were so adorable standing side by side peering at me through the moose fence (which is around my cherry trees, which the moose adore and the little ones were nibbling at). By time I got out my phone they'd gone lippity lippity across the road and when a car came by they decided to move on.

I felt a little bad because in the video the moose are watching me, and it is better if they are not aware of people's presence. I find that I would have to go out of my way not to influence the moose I see, so as much as I can I minimize my impact on them. I'm afraid this is one of those times I succumbed to the opportunity to video and photograph them.

A little moose trying to nurse

As an interesting side, when I went back to raking I found a cute little poop, the size of a small dog's, in my lawn. As we don't get dog poop in our lawn, and it was fresh with flies on it, I suspect it was from one of the baby moose.

So grateful for my moose fences to protect my garden!

July Gardening Update

This has been one amazing growing summer. It was a warm spring so I was able to plant early, and the summer has been warm interspersed with fairly regular rainfall. My garden and greenhouse are about 4 weeks ahead of schedule, which is about how much early it has been all year. For those who find my gardening updates interesting, here you go!

The greatest development of my garden this year has been my strawberries. Last summer I got rid of a flowerbed that the weeds had taken over. There were some strawberry plants mixed in that I managed to salvage from the weeds--maybe 10 plants. I threw them in my raised bed--a space that I have not been able to get anything else to grow in--not even spinach or lettuce! They have gone bonkers. They immediately started sending out shoots last year, and now it is one solid mass of plants as you can see from the picture below.

My bird-proofing system for my strawberries

We have been getting many amazingly sweet, luscious strawberries

 Because we have lots of robins and other birds in our yard, I knew once the blooms started turning to berries that I would need to fend them off. My system is simple: I pounded 3 stakes into the middle of the strawberries and laid chicken wire over it, one section per side. To pick we just gently lift of the wire and reach in. It works like a charm. These are some of the best strawberries I have ever had--very sweet, even when not fully ripe. I can't tell you what type they are unfortunately!

The potatoes are bushy and already beginning to flower

Amazing having broccoli so early! In the background, spinach going to seed and onions

My kale is ready to be used now and I planted almost a whole row of it so I need to start harvesting it. The spinach is ready to be eaten as well. The two zucchini plants outdoors are tiny but both have blooms and little zucchini on them despite that. The beets are coming along. The onions are the one thing that have suffered: I think it has been a bit too warm for them and I neglected to water them when we had some short dry spells so the tips of the tops are turning brown (as are my chives).

My aunt gave me some miscellaneous, unknown starts after I had my garden planted, and rather than turn them down I threw them in wherever I could find space in my flowerbed and greenhouse. I'm still not sure what they all are, but some are for sure kohlrabi, which will be a treat as I didn't plant any this year.

I always plant things close together in the greenhouse, thinking there is NO WAY the plants could get too big for the space, and things are always crowding each other. The lettuce always goes in the back, in a row behind the main plants, which becomes a pain to harvest once the plants get large, such as the lettuce behind the zucchini. Ah well. No big trouble to have 6 months of fresh lettuce! 

Plants are squished together in my greenhouse, with my cilantro, bok choy (I think!) and parsley shown here

The indoor zucchini are going nuts, with lettuce tucked in behind it

My tomatoes are already ripening, I am harvesting zucchini (if all the females get pollinated, I will have a bumper crop!!), we've clean out the cilantro, and whenever we need some we have parsley, basil and bok choy. A new development this year in the greenhouse is that I was able to grow spinach for the first time!! Usually it is pathetic and tiny and I pull it up and throw it in the compost, but this year the spinach went nuts in the greenhouse, and the same kind is not growing well outside (but a different kind is growing great outdoors). My green beans plants are gigantic bushes so we'll see how those come along. I'm expecting them to start blossoming soon. I guided the cucumber plants onto tomato wire forms yesterday because there was nowhere for them to go with all the plants squished in (those extra starts I threw in) so now they are going to go UP! The little cukes are forming so we shall have some in the next week or so.

When it is sunny the greenhouse needs to be watered every day, but when it is cloudy every other day is sufficient. I collect rain water and use that as much as possible, but depending on how often it rains, that may only last me a few days. Fertilizing is necessary in a greenhouse, and I have been using some every couple weeks. That has been a key that I just started doing last year and it has made a difference in my yields.

I have given my compost a bit more attention this summer, stirring and watering it and paying a bit more attention to the mix of carbon and nitrogen items in it. It compacting nicely and I think I'll have a nice batch of compost to go on the garden next spring. This year's batch wasn't very composted because I hadn't stirred it, though I managed to get a couple wagon-loads out of it anyways. And the soil in the garden is finally looking less like a mucky, clay-like morass and more like soil, which even my non-garden husband noticed when he rototilled it this spring.

I've done 2 full weedings of the entire garden this summer, which is more than usual by this time. Nice weather helps the weeds grow too. I am being more aggressive about keeping the nearby weeds down so that the seeds don't blow in so over time I think the weed situation will be more under control.

I love being able to run out to the garden or greenhouse to get my dinner makings. I am always astounded that I throw seeds into the ground and....they grow and make food! It seems I do so little work for the bounty, and yet I do, just not as much as some uber-gardeners I know. I feel like I do the minimum to make it happen. But I do talk lovingly of my plants as I walk by them and I like to think that helps make it a more conducive growing climate for them as well!

Terry Knowles Coastal Trail-Anchorage

Back in May we walked along the paved bike path by Ship Creek. At the time I thought that was the Coastal Trail, but after actually biking the Coastal Trail in Anchorage a few days ago and consulting a biking trails map for the area, I now realize that was the Ship Creek Trail, which is connected by a few blocks of city streets to the Coastal Trail down by the train depot.

 We parked by Westchester Lagoon off of Spenard Road, which is about a mile from the start of the Coastal Trail along the Chester Creek bike path.  The bridge that heads to the right towards downtown fell down (yep, the bottom just fell out from the looks of it) so it is blocked off and an alternate route provided to that part of the trails via city streets. So we maneuvered to the left towards Kinkaid Park. 

Ah, but the Coastal Trail is beautiful!The trail is mostly flat with some gentle rolling hills, though by the Ted Stevens Airport there is a steep section, and the last half mile up to the Kinkaid Park Chalet is a long uphill. There are large sections of birch trees, part of the trail was lined with blooming, scented roses, and peeks of Cook Inlet were numerous. The trail was also very busy with runners, walkers and bikers so we had to be vigilant around the curves and on the downhills.

If there is one thing I noticed about the Coastal Trail is the complete lack of restrooms at all of the access and parking areas. There are 2 portapotties at the Westchester Lagoon, and then the Kinkaid Chalet bathrooms 9 miles up the coast with nothing in between.

The area by the airport is a hot spot of activity. Folks were taking pictures (it is also a high, open point on the trail), sitting on the grass watching planes come in right over their heads, land, and take off. One plane would take off and the next moment another would land. The two planes that landed as we biked by were the University of Alaska Anchorage private jet and then a large cargo plane. There is a parking lot right there as well for path access.

A sign at the trailhead of the Coastal Trail

A ship was coming in as we were biking the trail

There are plenty of benches, picnic tables and paved pull-off areas along the Coastal Trail

The chalet at Kinkaid Park is open 12-8:30 M-Sat (12-5 on Sun) with indoor restrooms

The Coastal Trail appears to be a popular spot to watch air traffic at the Ted Stevens Airport. Landing planes come right over the trail

Enjoying the view from the Coastal Trail

I am looking forward to the opportunity to bike this again, explore some of the side connector trails, check out Earthquake Park that is right along the path, and try some of the mountain bike trails in Kinkaid. I'll admit: I am very jealous of the trail system in Anchorage, both paved and trail. They are extensive. It would definitely be one of the "selling factors" if I were to consider moving to Anchorage.

Ptarmigan Valley Trail-Chugiak

View of what would be the mountain the Ptarmigan Valley Trail heads up...if we could see it (taken from the softball fields across the road from the trailhead)

I like exploring and checking out random trails when I am traveling, so the other day when we had to drop Denver off at Boy Scout camp north of Anchorage, we took the Old Glenn Highway from the Chugiak exit and drove by a trailhead sign. I'd never heard of it and was intrigued, so when we had a few hours to while away before meeting some folks for dinner, I suggested we check it out.

Brown State Park signs always catch my eye

We started out and within minutes we realized we needed to be better prepared: the mosquitoes were thick, and we hadn't put bug dope on. Back to the car we went, then we tried again. The trailhead sign cracked me up. Here it is. Try to figure out what they all are. I especially want to know what that one with the ball is.

I like how they put a moose and bear on this sign as a "trail user"

It seems like this trail is used most heavily in the winter as a snowmachine tail

Tad blurry, but you get the idea--a fairly nice trail, though it is not all graveled like this

This trail climbs and climbs and climbs. It looked like it is 6 miles to the end of the trail. Snowmachines are supposed to stay on trail for the first 5 miles, so my guess is that it takes 5 miles to get above treeline. Signs for snowmachiners abounded: speed limits, stay on trail, turns, etc. so it seems that this is a very popular trail in the winter. I would guess we made it 2 or 3 miles up the trail.

We climbed--right to the clouds, literally! When we realized we would have no view from the trail today, either up or down, we decided to turn back. At one point the clouds parted enough for us to see Cook Inlet or maybe a large river, but that was as much overview as we got. It was a very comfortable climb: the grade was moderate and neither Doug nor I got winded at all, and the hike back took almost as long as the hike up so it would seem that our speed was about the same both ways.

What I liked about this hike was that the trail was really quite nice. It was wide-ish as trails go with only a few boggy spots and not too much brush and branches hanging over the trail. There was no other traffic on it, though we did see some fresh horse prints so obviously at least someone else had been on the trail that day (I'm not a big horseback rider, but I could see enjoying this trail by horseback.). What was terrible was the mosquitoes. We reapplied bug spray 3 times in 45 minutes and still the bugs hit us like rain. My bare arms were a mass of bug carcasses by time we were done.

If I were up in Chugiak again with time to spare, I would definitely check out this trail again for a nice walk!

Bird Creek Campground and Area

For at least the past year, the campground at Bird Creek has been under construction. We'd stayed at that campground once before and loved it: it was cozy and intimate, with trees hanging over the sites and plenty of privacy. I was so excited to see that the campground is open again, as it is a great taking-off spot for the Anchorage area and exploring Turnagain Arm. We needed a place to stay on our way up to pick up Aurora from the airport the other week, and saw that the Bird Creek Campground now has 2 cabins for rent, so we reserved the smaller one, the Beluga Cabin, online. 

Nicely paved trail to the cabin--about a 50 yard walk from the parking lot

Beluga Cabin at renovated Bird Creek Campground

Cabin with out-the-door access to Indian to Girdwood paved bike path

Cabin has 4 bunks, loft, large table, firepit, front and back decks

The cabins are nice, though basic. If you want heat you have to bring a propane tank (like for a grill) and hook it up; there is no wood stove or other indoor heating. Obviously there is no electricity, and the bathroom is the pit toilet in the campground. There is a "kitchen" area for cooking with tiles built into the countertop to put campstoves on. The two cabins were in a pretty woods. It was an okay deal for $65 per night, though we found a motel in Indian a mile or so away that is the same price per night for a room with a shower, though it only sleeps 2, not 8 as the cabin does, and is above a bar as opposed to in the woods.

The redone campground is now wide open with no privacy

What was stunningly disappointing was the campground: it was clearcut and is now wide open, one big field, with no privacy at all. Any character that the campground had before is gone. It has to be the ugliest campground I have ever been to. There was only 1 water pump (orange water), and few restrooms, so it was a walk to get to them. We would stay there if we had to, if we wanted to stay in that area, but it would not be an aesthetically pleasing experience.

We got settled in the cabin, then took a walk in the rain. We'd planned on hiking up to Crow Pass that day but it was so wet and drippy with low cloud cover that we thought that would not be fun and we wouldn't be able to see anything. But the walk proved to be interesting, exploring an area we have driven by many times but never actually walked.

Bird Creek at high tide

Bird Creek is right along Turnagain Arm so it is flooded at high tide. At certain times of the year it becomes a zoo, so I am guessing it is a good fishing river when the season opens.

Train trestle over Bird Creek

Walking bridge over Bird Creek

Old logging relics along Bird Creek

The entrance to the Bird Creek interpretive trial is obscure

Once over the walking bridge (on the Anchorage side) there is a short interpretive trail (20 minutes round trip, out and back, for us) that leads to some old logging relics, when large cedars were floated down this river. The trail is not kept up so we were dodging under and around branches over the trail.

After that we hiked up to the overflow lot where folks can camp in a parking lot, and there are short trails around up there as well. It is quite a complex of trails and parking lots for this river and it is beautiful so I'm glad we finally got a chance to check it out more.

Flattop Hike-Anchorage

This is a hike I have been meaning to take for years, but for one reason or another have not done. Even Doug and the kids have hiked up Flattop! And this has to be one of the more popular hikes in the Anchorage area, evidenced by the expansion of the parking lot since cars had been overflowing, parking down the road. The other sweet development at the Glen Alps/Flattop trailhead is a credit card payment kiosk (two, actually) so that folks who don't have cash or a check can still pay the $5 to park there.

The view of Anchorage from the overlook just off the Glen Alps parking area is neat, but as you make the 1300 foot climb, the view expands to the whole area. While it is only 1.7 miles (I am guessing this is one way), it feels like a good climb. Any amount of climbing will get you neat views, and the final section is a bit of a rock scramble than anyone uncertain on their feet will want to avoid.

The first section of trail heads between the trees

You can see the "flat top" of Flattop above

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Looking up the valley from near the top of Flattop

Almost at the end and back to the parking lot. Looks cool because the clouds obscure the other grounds

Hatcher Pass

I have been hearing lots about Hatcher Pass over the years--what an amazing outdoor playground it is for backpacking, hiking, snowmachining, downhill and cross-country skiing and snowboarding, but have not been up in that neck of the woods with time to spare before. On our way back from Denali we had some time so took the Fishhook-Hatcher Pass Road from the Willow area.

As we turned up the road, we noticed a sign saying that Hatcher Pass was closed until July 1. I shrugged and thought, "Well, we'll see how far we get." It still ended up being a disappointment when we reached the spot it was closed as we were just a week from the "opening day."

It is a paved road for a ways with houses spattered along the way, but then the gravel begins. We passed a sign that said road closed for the winter that was partially open. As we debated going further, two cars zoomed past us, which made up our mind for us and we continued on. The road followed a gorgeous mountain stream--the type that gets its picture in magazines--for most of the way up to the pass, 10 miles or so. We passed some folks who were panning for gold in the river.

As we went up some switchbacks, we noticed some mines on the side of the mountainside. As we went higher we passed an industrial-looking group of buildings, which was incongruous in this wilderness area. It was an active gold mining operation.

Not far further there was a gate across the road again, and this one was not partially open. Beyond it were snow-covered switchbacks. We asked a lady who was horseback riding about it. She was planning to ride over the pass if the avalanches weren't too bad, which explained why it was closed so late in the season.

So instead of bopping over the pass and on into Palmer or Wasilla, we had to retrace our path back to the Parks Highway. And while we got a "taste" of Hatcher Pass, we are fully aware that we will need to go back and visit again--preferably sometime between July and September--in order to see what is on the other side!

Here are a few pictures of our journey up this picturesque valley.

Mine in Hatcher Pass

Love the view of Hatcher Pass!

Bummed that the road was closed, but beautiful drive anyways! Photo by Phil Waclawski!

Double checking. Nope. No way through. Back the way we came! Photo by Phil Waclawski